Super middleweight Andre Dirrell's tumultuous interim title victory against Jose Uzcategui led to the order of an immediate rematch and forced him to make a trainer change.
Dirrell decided to go with Virgil Hunter and the pairing will be put to the test when the sequel goes down on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The bout will be the co-feature of the card headlined by Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs), making his seventh heavyweight world title defense, and Luis "King Kong" Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs).
"There is a positive aura in the gym, which is a winning environment," Dirrell said of his move to Hunter's gym outside of Oakland, California, about two months ago. "When you walk into that gym, it's time to work. Virgil lets you know that simply by staring at you. You have Andre Ward's posters all around you, other fighters' posters around you. There are a lot of fighters' faces up on those gym walls, including Andre Berto's.
"I'm definitely inspired because the atmosphere has everything to offer as far as training. You have the mountains, the beaches. And of course, ultimately, you have Virgil, who has flair about him and a way to generate that fire within you and bring it out of you. The most important thing with Virgil is listening."
When Dirrell (26-2, 16 KOs) and Uzcategui (26-2, 22 KOs) met on May 20 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, for the vacant interim belt they put on an excellent fight that ended shockingly, with Uzcategui nailing Dirrell with a three-punch combination in which the final shot landed while the bell was still ringing to end the eighth round.
Dirrell went down hard, face first. Referee Bill Clancy ruled that the final punch landed after the bell and that Dirrell was unable to continue, and he controversially disqualified Uzcategui, who was ahead 77-74 and 77-75 on two scorecards with the third scorecard 76-76.
Uzcategui, 27, a Venezuela native based in Mexico, would have won a majority technical decision had Clancy ruled the shot was an accidental foul, which was the prevailing opinion at ringside.
But it was what happened a few minutes later that led to Dirrell's search for a new trainer. That is when Leon Lawson Jr., Dirrell's trainer and uncle, viciously assaulted Uzcategui by sucker punching him in the face as he stood in his corner minding his business.
Lawson was later arrested and faces a trial on a second-degree assault charge in Maryland's Prince George's County in April, following multiple postponements. Lawson is barred from working Dirrell's corner because he was suspended indefinitely by the Maryland State Athletic Commission, as well as by various sanctioning organizations, for the attack. That left Dirrell in need of a new trainer for the rematch.
Dirrell, a 34-year-old southpaw from Flint, Michigan, sought the advice of his longtime friend and 2004 Olympic teammate Ward, the recently retired former pound-for-pound king and two-division world champion. Hunter trained Ward since his amateur days and he suggested Dirrell give him a try.
"My Andre spoke with him and [Dirrell] said he needed a change," Hunter said. "Andre told him to give it a try, so he came out here to my gym for a week and we worked together. And he decided to stay. His ability is there, the skill is there. He's not a shopworn fighter. It all boils down to mental capacities."
Hunter said he is not trying to make any major changes to Dirrell's game. What he wants him to do is focus for every second of every round. It was his lack of focus, Hunter believes, that led to him getting nailed at the end of the eighth round, when he let his guard down just for a moment.
"Andre Dirrell has not reached his goals yet," Hunter said. "I detect a hunger in him and he wants to learn. The adjustments are very simple: settle down, calmly do the job. It goes down to pedigree and on paper who should win the fight. That's Andre [Dirrell], but can he execute that talent and stay intact when the rough moments come and can he stick to the game plan? That's what we are working on."
Dirrell said he has bought in to Hunter's training style and agrees with him that staying alert and concentrating better during the fight are paramount.
"If I stop for one minute, he'll tell me, 'It takes one second to get knocked out.' He teaches with passion, direction and remains focused on the task at hand, really wanting you to instill how important things are, psychologically," Dirrell said. "I know that I fought it incorrectly, but I was still coming back. He won the first, second and possibly third and fourth rounds, but I was coming back. So this time, I plan on frustrating this boy so much that he'll be completely off of his game."
Andre Ward, who has been around the gym during Dirrell's training camp, also believes his friend doesn't need to make any radical changes.
"The way I feel about Andre is the way I've always felt: The sky's the limit," Ward, who won an Olympic gold medal, said about Dirrell, who claimed a bronze. "He has the God-given ability and talent to do whatever he wants to do in a boxing ring. In other words, he is blessed with the kind of gifts, that if he's made up his mind that he won't allow himself to be beat and if he prepares properly in camp, it's going to be very hard to beat him.
"With a fighter with Andre's experience and pedigree, it's less physical and more psychological. Do you want to be a champion and do you want to dominate your division? If the answer is yes, which I believe it is, then go do it. It sounds simple and in many ways it is, but you have to be very intentional to condition your mind to think this way and really believe it. That's the reason he is training with Virgil in the Bay Area. Physical training, mental preparation and spiritual preparation. It all matters."
Hunter said that he has spoken with Lawson on the phone during the training camp and that Lawson was happy that Hunter is training him. Hunter is also training Lawson's 18-year-old son, prospect Leon Lawson III (2-0, 2 KOs), a 6-foot-5 welterweight with power.
"I stay in touch with Leon [Lawson Jr.] and he gives me solid advice on [Dirrell's] mental makeup," Hunter said. "Everything is smooth. There's no pressure from making the change and everyone feels the change was best for him. Andre knows how to train. He knows how to get in shape. It's his job to stay alert and don't take for granted [Uzcategui is] going to stop punching. Stay alert, stay calm and trust in his abilities. That's what I tell him. He knows the importance of it. He has to see the fight through."